Morocco nabs al-Qaida in Maghreb cell

RABAT, Morocco, May 21 (UPI) -- Moroccan security officials Wednesday said they captured the first suspects of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.

The official Moroccan news agency, Maghreb Arab Press, said 11 suspects were trained in suspected al-Qaida camps in Iraq and North Africa.

"The network, including a Moroccan living in Belgium, is believed to have links with groups sending volunteers to Iraq and to camps of al-Qaida's branch in North Africa," the Moroccan news agency reported.

Moroccan officials said the cell was plotting attacks in the European Union and specifically a hotel in Belgium, though officials in Brussels couldn't confirm the allegations.

This was the second al-Qaida affiliation uncovered by Moroccan officials in May. A Moroccan court earlier this month accused 27 citizens of "forming a criminal gang with the goal of preparing and committing terrorist acts," Med Basin Newsline said Wednesday.